The Storm After the Calm
by kate657
Summary: Despite all the obstacles, Haley and Nathan are finally married. But now a secret long kept is about to be revealed at the worst possible time in the worst possible way. This is a sequel to the story Then & Now.
1. 1

**_The Storm After The Calm_**

**Chapter One**

Nathan walked into the kitchen of his and Haley's home. Haley was already busy at the stove. "Hey," he said, coming towards her and putting his arms around her waist. She smiled and leaned against him.

"Hey right back at you," she said.

"What are you making?" he asked.

"Eggs," she replied. Nathan smiled.

"You're such a good provider," he joked.

"That reminds me. The principal called to remind me of the music department's staff meeting so I won't be home until later on," she said. Nathan sighed. He hated it when they didn't come home together. "Is there a game today?" she asked as she plopped the eggs onto two plates and put them on the table.

"No," he replied.

"I thought there was," she said.

"We rescheduled it. It's on Monday instead," he explained. She nodded in understanding as she began to nibble on the breakfast. She made a face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"The smell is making me a little nauseous," she replied.

"Are you getting sick or something?" he asked. They had eggs almost every week and this was the first time the smell had made her nauseous.

Haley scrunched her face as she said, "I better not be. I only have x amount of sick days and I'm not going to waste them for when I'm actually sick." Nathan laughed. Haley sighed as she got up and put the rest of the eggs in the garbage and began cleaning her plate. "I have to go in early. Can you get a ride with Lucas?" she asked. He smiled.

"Yeah. He's off on paternity leave, but I don't think he'll mind giving me a ride," he said.

"How is that affecting the team?" Haley asked as she put the dish in the dish strainer.

"Uh, not as bad as I thought. Jake is picking up the slack in his absence. Thank God I decided to hire _two_ assistant coaches instead of one," he said. Haley laughed and nodded in agreement. "So, why do you have to go in early?" he asked.

"English Department staff meeting," she replied.

"_Two_ staff meetings in one day?" he asked.

"Oh, it's not that big of a deal," she said. She walked out of the kitchen and began to put on her suit that Brooke had designed for her. Haley loved the fact that she had a fashion designer for one of her best friends. It made clothes shopping so much easier. And Brooke knew that Haley was pregnant so she was already designing some good maternity suits for her. She smiled as she put a hand on her stomach. She and Nathan would finally have a child soon. Haley had been a little envious when Peyton and Brooke had their kids. She was absolutely ecstatic when she went to the doctor a week ago and found out that she was a month pregnant. She knew Nathan was upset about the fact that she had to stay later today but she just shrugged it off. She was going to tell him about her pregnancy on Friday which was two days from now, so they'd have the weekend to celebrate all alone. She grabbed her shoulder bag, her keys and her purse and headed towards the front door, but Nathan grabbed her as she passed the kitchen. He brought her close to him and held her tightly as he gave her a kiss that made her rethink going to the staff meeting.

He finally let her go and said, "Just wanted to say goodbye for now. I'll see you at lunch?" She nodded as she headed out the door.

Nathan smiled as he watched Haley leave. When she shut the door, Nathan decided that he better get ready for basketball practice. He got dressed and grabbed his gym bag as well as his whistle. Never in a million years did he think he'd be using a whistle or be a coach like his mentor, Whitey Durham. He sighed as he remembered one of his conversations with Whitey.

_Nathan had walked into Whitey's office and saw him packing up his stuff. "So, you're just going to quit, huh? Win 500 games and walk away?" Nathan asked. Whitey looked shocked._

"_I did a little research in the library," he said, handing Whitey the list that he had dropped. It was of his life's goals._

"_You were in the library? Temperature must have dropped in hell. I promised Camilla I'd win 500 games then walk away. We were going to grow old together," Whitey said._

_Nathan smirked as he said, "You're already old, Coach. Besides, who's going to yell at me, huh?" Whitey shook his head as he put something in his box._

"_I'm not supposed to yell at you, Nathan. You're supposed to learn things," he said._

"_Yeah, but what fun would that be? You love yelling at me," Nathan said._

"_I do not!" Whitey protested._

"_Yes, you do. You love to yell at me and I love to make you yell," Nathan argued._

_Whitey slammed his fist on the desk as he yelled, "Well, if you'd listen once in a while, you knucklehead!" Nathan raised his eyebrows and cracked a smile._

_He grew serious and said, "You know, not many coaches win 500 games." Whitey nodded and threw his arms up in a gesture._

"_No, not many high school coaches win 500 games. You know why? Cause they move up to the next level," he said as he pointed his finger up. "To carpeted locker rooms and air-conditioned buses and gamest that matter," he continued. Nathan shook his head._

"_That's a bunch of crap, Coach, and you know it. These are the games that matter. They matter to the kids who are just trying to figure themselves out. Figure out who they're going to be. Look, the other day, you asked me if you've made a difference," Nathan said. He paused for dramatic effect. "Well, you have. At least with me," he finished._

_He started to leave but Whitey said, "Son, at some point, you've got to do it on your own." Nathan turned around and nodded._

"_Yeah, at some point. We both know I've got a long way to go, Coach. Just don't give up on me," Nathan said._

And Whitey never had given up on him. He even tried to help him when Haley left. He remembered Whitey saying, _"Look, son, you took a big risk and admire you for that, but it's easy to be happy when things are going well. Marriage is about making it through, staying together even when things turn to crap. So, will you grow the hell up? You might not like Haley very much right now, but she's still your wife. And where I come from, that still means something. Whether you like it or not!" _Nathan had been too angry and hurt to listen to Whitey at the time, but those words had a profound effect on him later. He lived by those words now when it came to his marriage. He smiled as he text Lucas to see if he would drive him to work, explaining that Haley had gone to work earlier. Ten minutes later, Lucas had replied, saying that he didn't mind. There was a knock at the door. Nathan was confused but went to answer the door. He was shocked when he saw who was on the other side.

"Hey, Nate," the girl said.

"Rachel," Nathan muttered.

"It's been a while, I know. But I still remember us like it was yesterday," she said.

"The 'us' you're talking about no longer exists. We were over the minute I came back to Tree Hill," he said.

Rachel twirled her blond hair as she said, "You mean after you changed your mind about us two minutes after you proposed to me?" There was a serious look in her green eyes that Nathan had never seen before and he took a deep breath.


	2. 2

**Chapter Two **

Haley walked out of her meeting and sighed. "That was a waste of time," she said to Jake as she ran into him outside the staff room.

"Hey, Haley," he said. She smiled as she realized that she forgot to say hello to him.

"Sorry, Jake. How are you doing?" she asked. He smirked.

"I'm alright. Just pretty tired," he replied.

"Why?" Haley asked.

"Well, Peyton's going to Chicago today and so we spent yesterday with each other before she left. She's going to be gone until tomorrow," he said.

"What about Chris and Elizabeth?" Haley asked.

"Babysitter," he replied.

"That must be costing a lot. Why didn't you just take the days off to look after them?" she asked. Jake laughed.

"Are you kidding! I'd be bored out of my mind, stuck in the house all day while they basically sleep most of the time. Not to mention the fact that your husband would _kill_ me. He's already down one assistant coach," Jake said. Haley laughed.

"I'm so out of it today. I completely forgot about that," she said.

"Are you ok, though?" he asked. Haley nodded.

"Oh, yeah. It's just that I felt sick this morning and so, I'm kind of tired. Whenever I feel sick, I get tired," she said. Jake smirked. Haley looked at him and asked, "What?"

"Nothing. It's just Peyton was like that when she was pregnant. She'd have morning sickness and then be tired a while after," he said. Haley laughed nervously. She couldn't let Jake find out that she was pregnant before her husband did. "So, what are you teaching first?" he asked.

"Oh, it's my grade nine English class," she said. Jake smiled.

"That sounds fun," he said sarcastically.

"Whatever. At least I don't have to coach a basketball team," she said smirking.

"It's not a bad job. The pay's pretty good too," Jake said.

"I meant that you have Nathan for your boss," she said. Jake laughed.

"He's alright most of the time. It's when the team isn't being productive that he turns into a crank. I swear, sometimes he's a younger version of Whitey," Jake said. Haley knew that Nathan would take that as a compliment because he looked up to Whitey. All of his former students did, including Haley and he had never taught her.

"Well, I've got to go or I'll be late," she said, rushing to her class. Jake called out goodbye to her as she raced down the hallway.

"I acted hastily. I made a quick decision without considering all of the facts," Nathan said. Rachel scoffed.

"And what facts would those be?" she asked.

"That I was leaving New Jersey for good, that you were still in college and that I was still in love with my wife," he said. Rachel looked at him in confusion.

"You mean the one you were separated from?" she asked. Nathan nodded.

"She's the only wife I've ever had," he said. Rachel smiled.

"And where is she now?" Rachel asked sarcastically.

"At work," he replied. Rachel frowned. Nathan found some satisfaction when the smug look on her face disappeared. He knew that she thought Haley was still gone. Now, she knew that he was still married.

"I can't believe you're still married to her," Rachel said. Nathan was getting impatient.

"Why?" he asked.

"After what she did to you. She left you to go on the road and she sent you signed annulment papers," Rachel said.

"We've worked all that out now, Rachel. And we're happy. So, I don't know what you were hoping to accomplish by coming all the way here, but I'm already taken," he said. Rachel laughed.

"Well, you should be married to me and you and I both know it. It's what you wanted," she said. Nathan sighed.

"You're too late, Rachel. One: You turned down my proposal when I asked. Two: I'm married now," he said.

"Marriage isn't forever anymore, Nathan. You can get a divorce," she said. He looked at her in shock.

"Marriage is important to me and my vows are important to me too," he said.

"But they're not that important to your wife, are they? She left you and said goodbye to your marriage," Rachel argued.

"She thought she was doing what I wanted when she sent me those papers. My father tricked her. And even so, we've renewed our vows since then," he said. Rachel shook her head.

"You want to be with me and you know it," Rachel said. He laughed at her.

"Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds? You're embarrassing yourself. I tried to say it to you nicely. But if I have to spell it to you, I will. I am married. I love my wife and I am not leaving her for anyone especially not for you," he said.

"I know I was messed up then, Nathan," she said.

"Messed up? That's a bit of an understatement, don't you think? You were a disaster. You slept around, you did drugs and you were this close to being kicked out of school. Now, I'm sorry if you're hurt, but it's not my fault that you held onto a relationship that didn't last," he said. Then, Lucas pulled into the driveway.

"Nathan!" Lucas yelled out the window. He held out his left arm and pointed to his watch. Nathan started to leave, but Rachel grabbed his arm.

"We're still talking," she said. He ripped his arm from her grasp.

"No, we're not. I live in this time. I'm not stuck in the past like you are," he said. He left and got into the car with his brother.

"Who's that?" Lucas asked as he started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

"Someone from another life," he replied. Lucas looked at him in confusion. "You don't recognize her, do you?" Nathan asked.

"Should I?" Lucas said.

"That's Rachel," Nathan replied. He and Lucas had gone to the same college, so Lucas knew that he and Rachel had dated for a while. Lucas had never liked her and had always said that she was all wrong for him. Lucas looked at him in shock.

"_That's_ Rachel Moore?" he asked. Nathan looked at him.

"She doesn't look very different, Luke," he said. He shrugged.

"I'm not used to seeing her without a needle in her arm," Lucas said, referring to her drug habit. Nathan chuckled.

Lucas Scott felt as if he was in another universe. Nathan was laughing at his crack about Rachel Moore's drug addiction. Back when he was "dating" her, Nathan would yell at him if Luke made one offensive comment about her. "So, what's she doing in Tree Hill?" Lucas asked. Nathan shook his head.

"Oh, you're not going to believe this. She came here because she wants me back," he said. Lucas pulled over and looked at Nathan.

"Is she aware that you're married?" he asked. Nathan nodded. "She wants you to leave your wife?" Lucas asked, but it was more of a conclusion. Nathan smirked as he said,

"According to her, my marriage doesn't qualify as a real marriage." Lucas laughed.

"You know, Rachel always did kind of live in her own mind and ignore reality, but even this is pushing it. You guys dated for three months _four_ _years_ ago," Luke said.

"She thinks that because I proposed to her, I still want to be with her," Nathan said. Lucas scoffed.

"Please. The only reason you proposed to her was because you wanted to forget about Haley," he said. Nathan nodded. At the time, Nathan had thought he loved Rachel. He had met her through basketball at the college. She was on the girls' team and he had ignored all the problems she had because he thought in time, he would be able to change her, thinking that she was a victim. It wasn't until later that he realized that she wasn't a victim at all. He had assumed that one of her old boyfriends had convinced her to shoot heroin, but he was wrong. She had made all her decisions all on her own. And sooner or later, he had grown tired of picking up the pieces. They started dating and stopped in Nathan's third year of college. At first, she had stayed away from him, but in the middle of his senior year, she had suddenly decided that she wanted him back. Nathan had refused to take her back, of course. By then, he'd realized that any girl he dated would never compare to Haley and he needed to get over her before he started dating again. "I wonder how Haley will react to this," Luke said. Nathan shook his head.

"Haley knows I dated while I was in college, Lucas, and you know that," he said.

"She doesn't know you proposed to Rachel. I know because I would've heard about it," Luke said. Nathan rolled his eyes. Luke had warned him to tell Haley that Nathan had had a relationship while he was in college. Nathan agreed that Haley should know, but he didn't want to tell her that he had proposed to her. Lucas had told him that he should tell her everything, but Nathan didn't want to hurt her because he made a mistake. And Haley had taken the news that he had dated while apart from her pretty well.

(FLASHBACK)

Nathan sat Haley down on the couch and looked at her seriously. Somehow they had started talking about what they were doing while they were apart. Haley had told him that she had gone to New York University and had been so busy that even if she wanted to date, she never had time because of all the assignments and the apprenticeship she did at a local high school. "Nathan, what's wrong? You look so serious," Haley said, smirking to try and lighten the mood.

"Did you really not date anyone while you were in New York?" he asked. Haley nodded. "Why?" he asked. Haley sighed.

"I wasn't over you, Nathan. Legally, we were separated, but, in my heart, I was still your wife. Why else would I still be going as 'Haley Scott'?" she replied. He looked down. "You look surprised," she said. He didn't know how to tell her that while she had remained faithful to their marriage, he had dated other people. Then, she looked down. She seemed to have realized something. "Oh," she said. He looked at her. When he saw the look in her eyes, he knew that she realized that he had dated other people.

"I'm sorry," he said. Haley smiled.

"Nathan, it's ok. I sent you annulment papers. I wanted to give you your freedom because I thought that things were over between us. I took the first step to our separation, not you. We were apart for five years, Nathan. I didn't expect you to be alone and it's not what I wanted. I wanted you to find happiness, even if it wasn't with me," she said.

"So, you're not angry?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not thrilled to know that you've been with other people, but, no, I'm not mad," Haley explained. He nodded. "How many people were you with?" she asked carefully.

"Haley, come on," he said.

"Just tell me. I promise, I won't get mad," she said, holding up her hands in surrender. He smirked.

"I was with two girls. I dated one for a month in my second year and another for three months in my third year," he said.

"You didn't date anyone in your senior year?" Haley asked.

"No. By then, I'd realized that I wasn't over you. Any girl I dated, I'd just end up realizing that they were never going to be able to compare to what I had with you," he said. Haley smiled. She came closer to him on the couch. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"I feel the same way," she said softly. He smiled at her and held her tight against him.

(END OF FLASHBACK)

"Nate, I'll see you later. Tell Haley I said hello," Luke said, bringing Nathan out of his thoughts. Nathan nodded as he got out of the car and headed to his office that was located in between the gym and the boys locker room, but had doors that connected to both. There was even a door to the hallway. Nathan just considered it another way for people to interrupt him while he was working.

THREE HOURS LATER

Nathan was looking at some papers about the upcoming game. He still thought it was ridiculous that he had to give the players on the team permission slips every time they had a game even though the parents had already signed a permission slip so they could play on the team and checked the box, giving them permission to participate in games. But the school board made a regulation that for away games, a signed permission form was required. Then, there was a knock on one of his three doors. He realized it was the one that was from the hallway. He still heard Jake's Phys. Ed. Class going on in the gymnasium. "Come on in," he said trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. The door opened and a female laughed as she walked into the room and closed the door again.

"I swear, you always sound so irritated," she said. He smiled and looked up to see Haley sitting in a chair in front of his desk as she put her bag down on the other chair. He looked at his watch and realized that it was already third period. He didn't have any classes to teach until fourth and sometimes he had to do an on-call. Haley taught three out of the five periods and third period was her lunch. She usually only had fourth period free since she sometimes helped with the guitar class or did an on-call herself.

"You look tired," he said.

"Really? I'm more annoyed than tired. I just came from my grade nine vocal class and I swear, if I get one more question about Gavin DeGraw or Michelle Branch, I'm going to freak out," she said.

"Come on, Hales. Everyone knows you went on tour. You're practically a celebrity around here," he said.

"I went on tour six years ago. I should be known for more than that by now," she said.

"You are," he said.

Haley put her head on her elbow and asked, "And what is that?"

"You're Coach Scott's wife," he teased. She got up and walked around to his side of the desk and started swatting him.

"Not funny! Not funny at all!" She exclaimed as she continued to swat him. He laughed as he grabbed her by the waist and sat her on his lap. She smirked as he moved his head closer to kiss her.

When the kiss ended, he said, "Hello." Haley laughed as she pulled the chair that was beside him closer and moved to sit down.


	3. 3

**Chapter Three**

TAKES PLACE RIGHT WHERE CHAPTER TWO LEFT OFF

She looked at the permission forms that Nathan had just put back down and smirked. "An away game coming up?" Haley asked. Nathan nodded. He stared off into space and Haley was afraid because he was being distant. "Nathan," she said. He looked up at her. "Is everything ok?" Haley asked.

Nathan shrugged as he said, "I don't know what you mean." Haley cocked her head to the side and gave him a knowing look.

"I don't buy it. Tell me what's going on," she said. Nathan sighed.

"I don't want to upset you," he said. Haley shook her head.

"You're being distant, Nathan. That does hurt me, so it's a little late for that. Just tell me," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. He put his head down on her shoulder. This worried Haley because right away she knew that whatever was bothering him was obviously big. He lifted his head and she saw the hesitation in his eyes. She took a deep breath as she braced herself for what he was about to tell her.

"Do you remember me telling you about the girls I dated while in college?" he asked. She nodded slowly unsure of where he was going with this. "Well, the second girl I dated- Rachel Moore- I told you about her," he said. Haley nodded. She remembered him explaining to her that they had dated during his third year for about three months. She also remembered him explaining that she had a lot of problems and was really messed up. "She is in Tree Hill," he said. Haley's eyes widened.

"I thought she lived in New Jersey. What is she doing in Tree Hill?" Haley asked, keeping the panic out of her voice.

"I told you that she was a little messed up. Well, she also tends to live in her own mind and she doesn't always take 'no' for an answer," he said. Haley was always very perceptive and smart.

"She didn't come here for you, did she?" Haley asked. Nathan closed his eyes as he nodded. A tear started to trickle out of Haley's eye. He took her hand in between both of his hands. He brought it to his face and started kissing her fingertips.

Then he lowered their hands and said, "It doesn't matter what she wants, Haley, because I don't want Rachel. I want you. My relationship with her was based on lies and some misguided feeling that I mistook for love. Our relationship is based on truth and love. Rachel and I have a past together and that's it. You and I have a past too. But we also have a present and a future together and I don't want Rachel coming to Tree Hill to get in the way of that. I already told her that I was married and I made it clear that I'm happy with what I have right now," he said. Haley smiled.

"Nathan, I don't doubt that you love me. I know that you do and I know that you would never leave me. It's just hard for me to just accept that Rachel has just come back," she said. She got up and smiled at Nathan. "I have to go. I have an on-call," she said. Nathan sighed and nodded.

"I'll see you at home," he said. Haley smirked reassuringly and nodded. She came over and kissed him lightly and then left.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON (END OF THIRD PERIOD, BEGINNING OF FOURTH)

Nathan sighed as he and Jake went into the gymnasium. He was glad that this was a leisure class. They were so much easier to teach as he just had to supervise, but sometimes, he, Jake and Luke all played with the grade elevens. He let Jake explain to everyone that they were playing floor hockey this period. "So, Luke tells me that this girl from college is back in town," Jake said. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Well, Luke has a big mouth," he said.

"So, it's true?" Jake asked.

"It's not a big deal. An old girlfriend that I dated in my third year has come back to make my life miserable, that's all," Nathan said.

"How's Haley handling all of this?" Jake asked. Nathan sighed.

"She's handling it her way," he replied.

"So, you told her everything?" Jake asked.

"I told her that Rachel was in Tree Hill and that she might be hanging around for a while," Nathan said.

"Does she know that Rachel used to be your girlfriend?" Jake asked. Nathan nodded. "Does she know what you _asked_ her?" Jake said. Nathan sighed. He shook his head. Jake made a "tsk tsk" sound.

"Look, Haley's already upset about this and I don't want to hurt her anymore than I have, so I'd appreciate it if you kept your mouth shut," Nathan said. Jake put his hands up in surrender.

"I won't tell her a thing unless she asks me if you proposed to her, but I feel that I should give you some advice," Jake said. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"If you have to," he said.

"I think you should tell Haley the rest of the story. It will hurt her, sure, but, if she finds out from someone else, she might hurt you," Jake said.

"So, is Peyton back yet?" Nathan asked, changing the subject. Jake smiled.

"Ok, fine. I get it. You don't want to talk about it anymore. And, no, she isn't. She doesn't get back until tomorrow," Jake said.

"Do you miss her?" Nathan asked. Jake laughed.

"Do you miss Haley when you're not around her?" he asked in an amused tone. Nathan nodded. "Then, why would you ask me if I miss Peyton? She's my wife. Of course I miss her when she's gone," Jake said.

"How are Chris and Elizabeth?" Nathan asked.

"Elizabeth is an angel. Hardly fusses at all. Claire keeps saying that she's the type of baby every one would want to baby sit. Chris, however, is now in his terrible two's," Jake said.

"That bad, huh?" Nathan asked.

Jake laughed as he said, "Let me put it to you this way. You know how defiant Peyton can be, right?" Nathan smiled as he nodded. "Well, guess what? It seems that Chris inherited that defiant gene from his mother," Jake said. Nathan laughed.

"That's got to suck, Jagielski. What about Jenny? How is she liking kindergarten?" Nathan said.

"Oh, she absolutely loves it. She says she wants to bring Elizabeth and Chris to show and tell," Jake said. Nathan laughed. Nathan lifted his head to make sure no one was hitting anyone with their hockey sticks. He remembered last time they played, two of the girls that were also on the Girls' Field Hockey Team that Nathan and Lucas coached had gotten into a fight because one claimed that the other had made an illegal shot. "John, you're a part of a team. Act like it and pass to _all_ of your team mates. Not just Sam," Jake yelled. John then passed it to Lydia Norman, who then whacked it into the net and scored a goal.

"Good one, Lydia," Nathan said.

She nodded and said, "Thanks, Coach." Nathan liked the fact that he was called "Coach" and not "Mr. Scott". He hated that. Just then, he noticed his father waving an arm to him. He sighed.

"What?" Jake asked.

"That guy who fathered me is here," Nathan said. Jake turned to see Nathan's father.

"Go ahead. Just make it quick," Jake said loudly so Dan would hear that Nathan didn't have a lot of time. Nathan mumbled a thanks to Jake as he walked into his office. A few minutes later, Dan Scott opened the door from the hallway and walked in.

"Nathan," Dan said.

"_Dan_," Nathan mocked. His father looked at him with a warning in his eyes. "What brings you here?" he asked.

"Just wanted to make sure the coach is prepared for tonight's game," Dan said. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Well, seeing as how I'm the coach, I think I can tell you on pretty good authority that I'm fine. Besides, we're playing against the Bear Creek Warriors tonight. It should be a slam dunk," Nathan said.

"Nathan, this is serious. It's the beginning of the season and _some_ scouts will be there," Dan said.

"What do you care? No one from your family is on the team," Nathan asked.

"No, you're the coach of the team and the way the players play depends on how their coach coaches them and you're my son. That's how it reflects upon me," Dan said.

"You're unbelievable, you know that? You're retired now, Dad. How about you enjoy retirement and take Mom on a vacation to Florida or on a cruise and stop worrying about basketball for once?" Nathan asked.

"I just want to make sure that you're focused on the team and not your ex-girlfriend's sudden reappearance in your life," Dan said. Nathan snapped his head up at him.

"How did you know about Rachel?" he asked.

"Well, she called the house, looking for you. I told her that you lived at the beach house and gave her directions. You should really call people and tell them that you moved. Then, I won't have to take time out of enjoying retired life to tell your friends where you are," Dan said.

"So, that's how she found me, huh? You led that 'hurricane' right to me and back in my life, not to mention in Haley's life," Nathan said.

"Well, if Haley is really so insecure that she gets upset about a girl that you dated four years ago comes back into your life, then, it makes me wonder how much trust your wife really has in you," Dan said.

"Haley does trust me, Dad. She just doesn't trust Rachel and she shouldn't. No one should. You'd know that if you even bothered to talk to me before you gave her directions to the beach house. I'm surprised she found it, though," Nathan said.

"Why does that surprise you?" Dan asked in confusion.

"Well, when I last saw her, she was so messed up, she needed directions to get to a point on a map," Nathan said.

"That's a pretty terrible thing to say," Dan said.

"Well, what do you expect? I am my father's son," he said. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Nathan said. The door opened and Haley walked in. "Hey," Nathan said brightly. Thank God! He needed her right now. His father was starting to really get on his nerves. He needed someone here to referee.

Haley looked at Dan and said, "Oh, sorry. I didn't know you had company." She started to leave but Dan stopped her.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Haley. I was just leaving," Dan said, starting to move past her.

"Bye, Mr. Scott," Haley said. Dan stopped and turned around.

"You know, Haley, we're family. You really should start calling me 'Dad'. I pretty much am the closest thing you have to a father these days," Dan said, leaving.

"Now, there's a scary notion," she said as she closed the door. Nathan laughed.

"Hey, Hales. You have no idea how happy I am to see you," he said. Haley smirked.

"Look, I just came to tell you that I'm heading home now. I'm done for the day," she said. Nathan nodded.

"Are you going to come to the game?" he asked. She nodded.

"I might be a little late, though. I have a ton of papers to grade and I want to get them out of the way. I promised I'd give them back tomorrow," she said. She came a little closer and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. Nathan reached up and Haley let out a little squeal as he brought her down and kissed her on the mouth.

He broke the kiss and said, "I'll see you tonight." Haley opened her eyes and nodded.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER

Haley yawned as she read the last page of one of her students' papers from her grade twelve U.P. (University Prep.) English class. It was probably the best one out of the ten she'd read so far. She only had seven more to go. As she finished she started marking it, giving it a mark of 92 overall. She wrote a comment on the bottom of the page, basically saying that it was a good job and an interesting take on Romeo & Juliet. She decided that she'd make a snack before she started reading the other ones and went into the kitchen. She screamed when she saw Brooke in the kitchen. Brooke jumped and dropped the glass of juice she had in her hand. "Holy crap, Haley! You scared me half to death!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Well, good. Now you know how I feel," Haley said. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Brooke rolled her eyes.

"My Goodness, forget being hormonal. You're forgetful when you're pregnant," Brooke said. Haley looked at her in confusion. Brooke shook her head in disbelief. "Allow me to refresh your memory, Tutor/Teacher Wife. I called and said that I finished some more clothes for you. You said that I could use the key you gave me and Lucas and bring them over and hang them in your closet while you and Nathan were at work," Brooke said.

Haley smiled as she said, "Right. I forgot." Brooke winked at her.

"Well, what a surprise," she said sarcastically. Haley laughed at her. Brooke just shrugged.

"You know, maternity leave rocks. I get so much more work done now that I don't have to go down to the store every day," Brooke said. Haley smiled.

"Well, I'm dreading it," Haley admitted. Brooke looked at her as if she had three heads.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I just started getting a routine down for my students and the grade tens in my vocal class are just starting to get that trust and are now singing with their real voices. The last thing I need is a new teacher coming in and screwing everything up," she said.

Brooke laughed. "Well, you can always bring the new teacher in early while you're still there so they can get used to singing in front of a new person but at the same time, still feel comfortable because you're still there," Brooke said.

"That's not a bad idea," Haley said. Then, the doorbell rang. Haley followed Brooke to the front door. Brooke opened the door wide and on the other side stood a blond-haired girl no more than twenty-three years old.

She smiled mockingly at Brooke as she said, "You must be Nathan's wife."

Brooke burst out laughing as she said, "That's a good one." The girl looked confused.

"_I'm_ Nathan's wife," Haley said. Brooke caught Haley rolling her eyes at her.

"Oh. I don't know if Nathan told you I was in town or not," she said. Haley looked at her in confusion. So did Brooke.

"Are you an old friend of Nathan's?" she asked. The girl laughed. Brooke frowned.

"Oh, I'd say I'm a lot more than that. I knew Nathan while he was in college. We actually dated for a while," she said. Brooke looked at Haley as the smile vanished from her face and was replaced by a frown.

Her eyes blazed as she said, "You're Rachel?" Rachel nodded. Brooke bit her lip as she saw the triumphant smile on Rachel's cocky little face and how angry and upset Haley looked.


	4. 4

**Chapter Four**

Lucas parked in the school parking lot and took of his seatbelt. He walked over to the back seat and took Felix out of his car seat. He grabbed the stroller that Brooke had just bought and carefully put Felix in it. His son was sound asleep as Lucas walked through the halls. It still felt weird to be here and not be working. He headed to the gymnasium. He went to Nathan's office and walked in. He never knocked on the door. Nathan smirked at Lucas and held up a finger to signal that he needed a minute. He finished drawing on the paper and then put the playbook down. Luke sighed. "Hey, Luke. Glad to see my nephew is still in one piece," Nathan said. Luke laughed at him.

"Where's Brooke?" Nathan asked.

"She's at your house with Haley," Luke replied. Nathan nodded and yawned.

"So, where's the team?" Luke asked.

"Running laps," Nathan replied.

"I just came from the hall, Nate. They're not there," Luke said. That's where they always ran their laps. They went around the gym, out one door, up the stairs, down the upstairs hallway, down the stairs, and then through the other set of doors of the gym.

"Oh, I told them to go as far as the music room this time," Nathan said. Luke's jaw dropped.

"Nathan, that's on the other side of the school! Are you trying to tire them out?" Luke asked.

"No, I'm teaching them that I don't tolerate tardiness," he said. Luke's brow furrowed. "All but one person was late to practice," Nathan explained. Luke nodded.

"Ok. But don't you think that the music room was a little far?" he asked.

"That was where Jake told them to go to. I was going to make them run to the Tutoring Centre," Nathan replied. The Tutoring Centre was even farther than the music room and then they'd have to go down and up the stairs an extra time since it was downstairs. Luke shook his head in amusement.

"And you said Whitey was a hard-ass," Luke said. Nathan glared at him.

"I think Whitey was as tough as he needed to be," Nathan said.

"That's not what you said when we were on the team," Luke said.

"I was a wise-ass back then," Nathan said.

Luke nodded and said, "Can't argue with that." "So, how's Haley?" Luke asked.

"Why don't you ask your friend, Jake, big mouth?" Nathan replied. Luke gulped.

"Sorry about that," he said. Nathan nodded.

"It's alright. Jake has sworn that he won't say a word to Peyton or Haley about the fact that I proposed to her," Nathan said. Luke nodded. "Now you need to swear not to tell Brooke," Nathan said. Luke nodded. "I mean it, Luke," he said.

"Hey, I don't tell Brooke everything, you know," Luke said. Nathan scoffed.

"Do I have to remind you of her surprise party that Haley organized and while Haley was tiptoeing around Brooke with decorations and cakes, she knew about the party the whole time because you told her," Nathan said. Luke rolled his eyes.

"You don't know how Brooke was when she was pregnant, Nate. When she's pregnant, she can get mean," Luke said.

"Excuses, excuses," Nathan said.

"Oh, just you wait. You think Haley is a handful right now? Just wait until she's pregnant for the first time," Luke said. Nathan shook his head.

"If that ever happens," Nathan said. Luke looked at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Nathan shook his head.

"I don't think Haley wants kids, Luke," Nathan said. Luke laughed at him.

"Oh, please. I knew her when she was a little girl, Nathan. She wants kids. Trust me," he said. Nathan shrugged. Luke started thinking. "Maybe you're the one that doesn't want kids," Luke said. Nathan looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Don't be ridiculous. You have no idea how much I want kids with Haley. I just don't want to push her for something she hasn't expressed any interest in," Nathan said.

"Maybe it's just not time for the two of you yet. I mean, right now, you're dealing with enough, what with Rachel returning. I can guarantee you she's here to stir up trouble," Luke said. Nathan nodded. Haley was upset enough about the whole Rachel thing. If that upset was combined with the raging hormones associated with a pregnancy, she'd be volatile. When Nathan and Haley had first started out after their vow renewal, he'd noticed that Haley had changed a lot. She was still sweet and kind like she'd always been, but while living in New York City, she seemed to have developed a pretty tough shell. So if someone got her angry or hurt her, he pitied them. She was feistier now than she had ever been.

Rachel smirked triumphantly at the pain on Nathan's wife's face. She looked her over. She was petite. She had a round face that her brown hair framed nicely. Her eyes were what Rachel really noticed. They were big and brown which seemed added to her girl-next-door charm that Rachel sensed she had. But this wasn't why she noticed them. It was the anger in them that caught Rachel's attention. As she looked Nathan's wife up and down, she could see that her entire body was rigid. Her right hand was clenched into a fist. Her other hand tightened around the glass of milk she held. "Yes, I'm Rachel," she said in an aggressive tone. Her brunette friend seemed confused.

"Uh, Haley, are you ok?" the girl asked. Rachel turned her attention back to Nathan's wife, Haley.

"Nathan's not here," Haley said in a neutral tone. Rachel's spirits plummeted. She was hoping that he would be there.

"Where is he?" Rachel asked innocently. Haley scoffed.

"If you think I'm actually going to tell you, you're even more crazy than Nathan said you were," she said, still in a neutral tone. Rachel was impressed with her ability to keep the anger that was emanating from the rest of her body out of her voice. Rachel bit her lip.

"Have I done something to offend you?" Rachel asked. Haley smirked as she nodded. "What is it about me that offends you? Or is it that you're threatened by me?" Rachel asked, deciding to play it cool. Haley laughed as if the idea were preposterous.

"No, Rachel, it's your nerve that offends me," Haley said. Brooke smirked as this Rachel girl's face clouded with confusion.

"My nerve?" she repeated slowly as if she were a child sounding out their first word.

"Yes, your nerve," Haley said evenly.

"What do you mean by that? I don't understand," Rachel asked.

"Well, allow me to clarify. You have some nerve thinking that you can show up here in Tree Hill, at my front door, ask to see my husband, all the while acting as if I don't even exist," Haley said. Rachel looked appalled.

"I'm sorry if that's what you think. I didn't come here to cause any trouble," she said.

"Oh, really? You could've fooled me. Why else would you come to my door three years after your little fling with _my husband_ has ended?" Haley asked.

"What Nathan and I had was more than just a _little fling_," Rachel said. Brooke looked at Haley. Her entire face was bright with amusement.

"Oh, let me guess. You two were _in love_?" Haley asked. She laughed.

"God help you if that's what you think," she added. Brooke smirked proudly at Haley. It was a rare thing to see Haley Scott be so vicious. Brooke only remembered one other occasion where Haley had shown her claws so openly and that was nothing compared to this.

(FLASHBACK)

Brooke sighed as she saw Haley working in the café. She walked in and smiled at Haley brightly. Haley took one look at her and said, "We're closed." Brooke looked around at the door, noticing the "Come in, we're open" sign and then at the other customers sitting and eating. She laughed.

"Oh! I get it. Closed to me," she said. Haley didn't respond. "I don't blame you. I'd be a bitch to me too after last night," Brooke said emphatically. Haley sighed and looked up at her.

She smirked nastily as she said, "Knock yourself out." Brooke smirked and widened her eyes in surprise at Haley's attitude.

"You're feisty. I see what Nathan likes about you," she said. Haley glared at her. Brooke sighed. "Look, you're blaming Nathan for something that I did and that's not fair. I was drunk and I was pissed and I found your note and you know the rest," she said apologetically. Then, she perked up as she said, "I want to make it up to you." Haley didn't even look up. She just kept pouring sugar into bottles.

"By going away?" she asked.

"By hooking you and Nathan up tonight," Brooke said, chuckling. "What's your idea of a perfect date?" she asked. Haley continued to work.

"Watching you get hit by a bus," she replied, and then looked at Brooke as if she was bored.

Brooke smirked and pointed to her as she said, "And that sense of humour!"

"Nathan's really lucky. He'll be here at seven. Have fun," she continued. She didn't give Haley a chance to reply. She left.

(END OF FLASHBACK)

"We were in love. And it was real, despite what you want to believe," Rachel said. Haley shook her head.

"Well, even if all that is true, it doesn't matter because Nathan and I are married now and if you think that some girl he dated a hundred years ago is going to convince him to walk away from his marriage, you're sadly mistaken," Haley said. Rachel smirked.

"Nathan loved me a lot," Rachel said.

"Maybe in your mind, he did," Brooke said. Haley smirked at her appreciatively. Rachel let out a sarcastic laugh.

"If he didn't love me, then, why do you suppose he proposed to me?" Rachel asked.

"Okay, now you're just delusional," Brooke said. Rachel shook her head.

"I couldn't make this up if I tried. Nathan proposed to me one day after a big basketball game. We'd been together for almost three months. He even got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. At first, I thought he was kidding until he started saying about how I was the only one he could trust and he didn't ever want to lose me," Rachel said. Haley dropped the glass in her hand and it shattered to pieces as milk spilled all over the floor. Brooke took the opportunity to slam the door shut in Rachel's face. Haley felt as if she had been punched in the gut. The words that Rachel had said rocked her to her core as she remembered parts of Nathan's proposal to her:

"_You're my family now, Haley. The only true thing I have. I never wanna lose you… Marry me… I'm not normal. What I'm feeling is definitely not normal. And to be honest with you, Haley, I don't want to ever be normal. Not with you… I could love you forever…. So why can't forever start today?_" All of a sudden she felt Brooke's hands on her shoulders.

"Haley!" she exclaimed. Haley was jolted out of her misery as she was once again faced with a harsh reality. Her husband had spontaneously proposed to a troubled girl who he had dated for only three months. She looked at Brooke. Brooke looked at her with careful eyes that shone with concern. "Are you ok, Haley?" she asked softly. Haley laughed bitterly.

"Oh, I'm _great_. Just great!" Haley said sarcastically. Brooke bit her lip.

"I'm sorry. That was a stupid question," she said. Haley shook her head.

"No. You're just a concerned friend. I'm the one that's _stupid_," she said. Brooke looked at her in disbelief.

"You are not stupid, Haley," Brooke said. Haley whirled around to face her once again.

"Yes, I am. I knew that Nathan wasn't telling me everything. I _knew_!" Haley exclaimed. "In my gut, I knew there was more to the story, otherwise why would he be so distant and so concerned about hurting me if all that was bothering him was the fact that his old girlfriend was back in town?" Haley asked. Now she seemed to be talking to herself more than to Brooke, but she continued as she said, "I'll tell you why. It's because that's not what was really bothering him. It wasn't that Rachel was back in town, it was that he was afraid that I might somehow find out that he had proposed to her."

"Haley, you sound hysterical," Brooke pointed out. Haley looked at her.

"Wouldn't _you_ be hysterical if you were in my position?" she asked. Brooke was speechless. She came over to Haley and wrapped her arms around Haley. Haley didn't respond to Brooke's hug. A sudden realization came crashing down on her like a thunderstorm. "He lied to me," she said in misery.

THREE HOURS LATER (NEAR THE END OF THE BASKETBALL GAME)

Brooke walked into the gymnasium. She looked around the bleachers, searching for her husband and son. Lucas waved his free arm to get her attention. She smiled as she headed over. Once there, she kissed Lucas and took Felix in her arms. "Hi, sweetie!" she said to her son. "Hi to you too," she said to Lucas. Lucas smirked and he nodded at her.

"Hello," he said laughing. Then, he got a confused look on his face as he looked around. "Where's Haley?" he asked. Brooke exhaled loudly and looked down.

"Oh, she's not coming," she said. Lucas' eyes widened.

"Why? She told Nathan she would be here. He was counting on her to come so he wouldn't have a run-in with Dan," Lucas said. Brooke laughed.

"I don't think Haley really cares right now," she said.

"What does _that_ mean?" Lucas asked. Brooke smirked.

"Let's just say that a run-in with Dan is the least of Nathan's problems," she said cryptically. Brooke turned her attention back to the game, signalling to Lucas that she wasn't going to say anymore about the subject.

Nathan's heart plummeted as the bell rang for the end of the game. Haley had never showed up. He had noticed that Brooke had arrived solo and now, twenty minutes later, Haley hadn't arrived at all. He sighed as he congratulated the team on their win and a job well done. He said that practice tomorrow was cancelled, but Friday, there would be an hour practice in the morning to make up for the lost time. He looked around the gym in the hopes to see an apologetic Haley coming towards him, but there was only Brooke, Felix and Lucas coming towards him. He sighed. Maybe Brooke could explain why Haley hadn't showed. "That was great!" Brooke said.

"Yeah. I almost feel like you guys are doing better without me," Lucas said. Nathan smirked. "Uh, babe, Felix is getting fussy. I'm going to go to the car," Brooke said. Lucas nodded and Brooke left.

"She sure left quickly," he said. Lucas nodded.

"Well, we better get going. I'll see you later," Lucas said. Nathan sighed as he went to his office to start closing everything up.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER (NATHAN & HALEY'S HOUSE)

Nathan walked into the front door and noticed all the lights were off. Maybe Haley had gone out. He shook his head. "Haley!" he called. There was no answer. He walked down the hall to the kitchen. She wasn't there. He walked to the office. Still no sign of Haley. He walked into their bedroom and put his bag down and took his jacket off and flung it onto the bed. He was getting worried now. "Haley!" he called again. Then the light came on in the bedroom. He turned around to see Haley in the doorway. He sighed with relief. He started walking towards her but the look on her face stopped him dead in his tracks. Haley's normally kind brown eyes shone with an anger he had never seen in them before. There was some unspeakable pain behind the anger, but the anger was overwhelming.

"You said she didn't mean anything," Haley said softly, but her tone was laced with fury.


	5. 5

**Chapter Five**

Nathan looked at Haley in shock. "What?" he asked. Haley shook her head at him.

"Rachel. You said she didn't mean anything," Haley said. Nathan was dumbfounded.

"Haley, I-" he started, but Haley held her hand up to stop him from talking.

"If she didn't mean anything, then, why did you ask her to marry you?" she asked angrily. He looked down. His worst fear was coming true. Haley knew about his stupid mistake with Rachel. Even in her anger, he could tell that she was hurting more.

He couldn't think of anything to say, but, "I'm sorry." Haley laughed.

"For what, Nathan?" she asked.

"That I didn't tell you," he replied.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"I don't know. Luke told me to tell you," he said.

"Lucas knows?" Haley asked. He went on as if he hadn't heard her.

"And Jake said the same thing…" Nathan continued.

"Jake?" she repeated. Then, she laughed bitterly. "I can't believe this. I can't believe that _everybody knows_! Oh, wait. Everybody knew except me!" she exclaimed.

"Haley, it's not that big of a deal," he said, trying to soothe her pain. Haley tilted her head at him as she looked at him incredulously.

"If its not that big of a deal, then, why didn't you just tell me?" Haley asked. She was on the verge of tears. Nathan walked over to her.

He put his hands on her shoulders as he said, "I didn't want to hurt you." Haley scoffed as she moved a way.

"Well, that worked out _real_ well," she said sarcastically. She started walking out of the room and down the hall. She turned and headed into the kitchen. Nathan sighed. She was in the room with the biggest amount of items she could throw. But he knew Haley wasn't that type. He followed her into the kitchen.

"Haley, we need to talk about this," he said.

"I don't want to _talk_," she said.

"At least let me explain," he said. She whirled around to face him.

"You could've told me the whole truth when you decided to tell me about her in the first place, but no. I had to find out by her showing up here all smug and pretty and telling me herself. It's too late for explanations," Haley said. He sighed.

"Hales," he started.

"Don't 'Hales' me," she said, "This isn't going to go away by you calling me that."

"I know that," he said. He tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she shook it away.

"I can't be near you right now," she said, walking away. Those words felt like a slap in the face.

"Haley, come on," he said.

"No, Nathan. I need to be by myself," she said.

"I'm not leaving. You can forget it," he said firmly. Haley nodded.

"Then, I will," she said. He shook his head.

"I'm going over to Brooke's. We'll talk later," she said, grabbing her purse off the kitchen table and slamming the front door behind her.

TEN MINUTES LATER

Lucas opened the front door. He was shocked to see Haley in tears on the other side. "Haley," he said. She pointed to the house. "Come on in, Hales," he said, letting her in. She walked up the stairs and into the living room. He followed her. "Brooke isn't here right now," he said. Haley nodded as she sat down on the couch and broke down. He came and sat next to her. "Haley, what happened?" he asked, passing her a tissue. She took it and wiped her face.

"I know, Luke," she said. At first he was confused, but then he sighed.

"He finally told you, did he?" Luke asked. Haley shook her head and laughed bitterly.

"No, she did," Haley corrected him.

"Rachel told you," he said.

"Do you think I'd be this upset if _he_ told me?" she asked. She wasn't crying anymore. "Sorry," she said. "I'm kind of hormonal now," Haley explained.

"I would say that you're upset, Hales. You're not hormonal. You're not even pregnant," he said, chuckling softly. Haley froze. Lucas stared at her. He gasped. "Haley," he said. She turned her attention to him.

"Yeah?" she said slowly.

"You're not pregnant. Are you?" he asked. Haley shook her head. She was such an idiot.

"Yeah," she admitted. Lucas dropped the box of tissues in his hand.

"Does Nathan know?" Lucas asked. Haley shook her head. "Haley!" Lucas exclaimed.

"What?" she asked.

"You're mad at Nathan for telling you that he temporarily lost his mind and proposed to Rachel four years ago and yet you haven't told him that you're pregnant with his child right now?" Lucas exploded.

"It's not the same thing. I was going to tell Nathan tomorrow," she said.

"How long have you known you're pregnant?" he asked.

"Since Monday," she replied.

"Why are you waiting until tomorrow to tell him?" Lucas asked.

"I wanted to have the weekend to celebrate, Luke. I'm not keeping it from him because I don't want him to know," she said.

"But you _are_ keeping it from him," Lucas pointed out. Haley sighed.

"Do you really think Brooke told you she was pregnant right when she found out?" Haley shot back. Lucas nodded. "Then, you're incredibly naïve. She didn't tell you until about two weeks after she found out because she wanted to wait until your anniversary to tell you," Haley said.

"So, you knew before I did?" Lucas asked.

"Of course I did! Women tell each other good news right away," Haley said.

"So Brooke and Peyton must know that you're pregnant," Lucas said. Haley nodded. Lucas suddenly remembered his conversation with Nathan in the gym.

"Haley, you need to tell Nathan," he said.

"I'm going to tell him tomorrow, Luke," Haley said.

"No, you don't understand. You _need_ to tell him today," he said.

"We're in a fight. I'm not going to go to the house and tell him I'm pregnant. I'm still mad, Lucas," Haley said.

"Then, go and work it out and then tell him," he said.

"Why are you so insistent on this?" Haley asked, ignoring the fact that he seemed to have no regard for her feelings about Nathan not telling her about his proposal to Rachel.

"Because Nathan's afraid that you don't want kids," he said. Haley looked at him in disbelief.

"What?" she asked.

"He doesn't think you two are ever going to have children and he's convinced that you don't want any. He's under the impression that you're on birth control," Lucas explained. Haley was stunned. She hadn't been using the patch in over a year now. Her anger at Nathan lessened a little at the news. She hated that. She wanted to stay angry at him at least for a whole night.

FRIDAY

Nathan stretched out in the bed. He yawned as he reached for Haley. He groaned when he couldn't feel her. He opened his eyes and she was nowhere to be found. "Damn it," he muttered. "I was hoping I was just a dream," he continued. He got up and headed to the bathroom. He took a shower and got dressed. He didn't have to be at work for another hour but he didn't want to hang around the empty house any longer than he had too. He started to pack some things in the bag as he heard the doorbell rang. His first thought was that it might be Haley, but then, she would just use her key, seeing as how it was her house too. He walked down the hall, down the stairs and opened the front door.

"Hey, Nate!" Peyton Jagielski exclaimed. He sighed.

"Hi, Peyton. So you're back," he said. She smiled.

"Are you going to let me in or are we going to talk right here?" Peyton asked. That was classic Peyton. He moved out of the way so she could come in the house. She walked up the stairs and into the kitchen. "Haley! Get out of bed and come talk to your friend that you haven't seen in two days!" she called down the hall. Nathan walked into the kitchen.

"Haley's not here," he said. Peyton looked at him in shock.

"She went to work two hours early?" Peyton asked. Nathan shook his head.

"She's at Luke and Brooke's," he said.

"This early?" she asked.

"Peyton, I think you should know that-" he started, but was interrupted by the doorbell. Peyton shrugged and walked past him to the front door. He trailed behind her. She opened the door and Rachel was on the front porch. Rachel looked at Peyton in confusion but once she saw Nathan, she seemed to forget about her.

"Hey, Nathan. I was hoping you might be home," Rachel said.

"Come on in," Peyton said before Nathan had a chance to respond, Peyton was bringing her into the kitchen.

"So, Nathan. Why is Haley at Brooke and Lucas'?" Peyton asked as Nathan followed them into the kitchen. Nathan sighed.

"We got into a fight," he replied. Peyton's eyes widened.

"About what?" she asked. Nathan smirked.

"About her," he said. Peyton looked confused. She looked at Rachel for an explanation.

"What did I do?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, don't give me that. You know that it's because of what you told her," he said.

"How was I supposed to know that you didn't tell her?" Rachel said innocently. Nathan didn't reply.

"Okay. I'm kind of confused," Peyton said.

"It's a long story," Rachel said.

"Then, give me the short version," Peyton said. Nathan nodded.

"Ok. This is Rachel Moore. I dated her four years ago for three months. On Wednesday, she showed up at the front door saying that we belonged together," he said. Peyton was shocked. "Then, she had a run-in with Haley and opened her big mouth and told Haley that I had proposed to her," he said.

"You proposed to her?" Peyton asked.

"So not the point, Peyton," Nathan said.

"So, last night, Haley confronted me about it and it ended with her leaving because she said she couldn't be around me," he said.

"Is she ok?" Peyton asked. Nathan shrugged.

"She was really upset when I told her," Rachel commented.

"Gee, I wonder why," Peyton said sarcastically. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"She was devastated and angry when she left. I haven't heard from her yet," Nathan said.

"So, Haley's upset because you dated another girl?" Peyton asked.

"No, she already knew I dated her. She didn't know that I proposed to her until she told her," Nathan said.

"Nathan, I-" Rachel started.

"Save it. You've caused enough trouble, don't you think? You should leave," he said.

"I was invited in," she said.

"It's not Peyton's house. It's mine and Haley's," Nathan said.

"Actually, it's my house, Nathan," Dan Scott said. Nathan turned around.

"Haven't you ever heard of using a doorbell?" Nathan asked.

"Of course. But I don't use doorbells to get into my own house," Dan said.

"Actually, it's not your house, Dad. Haley and I are leasing it from you. We have a contract. The house is ours," Nathan said.

"And I'm insulted that she doesn't even stay in the house. I generously allowed the two of you to lease it from me and she doesn't appreciate it enough," he said.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with both of you right now," Nathan said.

Peyton turned to Rachel and said, "I think he wants you to leave." Rachel smirked.

"He's just upset. He doesn't mean it," Rachel said.

"Don't test me, Rachel. Peyton's right. I want you to leave," Nathan said. Rachel softened.

"Come on, Nate. I could help take care of you while you're upset," Rachel said. Nathan started rubbing his temple. He was about to burst.

"Don't you have a practice?" Dan asked.

"Get out!" he exploded. Dan was astounded.

"I didn't raise you to yell at people like this, Nathan," he said.

"Do you really want to go there, Dad?" Nathan asked.

"I'm going to leave you kids alone. I'll see you later, Nate," Dan said brightly as if nothing had just happened. Nathan shook his head in disbelief. His father was a real piece of work. Now, he turned to Rachel.

"Rachel, please. Just go," he said. Rachel sighed.

"I can't because you don't really want me to leave, Nathan," she said.

"You're really daft, aren't you?" Peyton asked.

"Excuse me?" Rachel asked. "You seem to hear only what you want to hear and nothing else. No matter how much he tells you that he doesn't want you around, you don't hear it. Do you?" Peyton asked.

"I hear every word," Rachel said.

"Then, why don't you listen?" Nathan asked.

"Because I know it's not what you really want. Just like I know Haley's not who you really want," Rachel said.

"I _love_ Haley," Nathan said.

"No, you care about her, Nathan, but you don't love her. You love me," Rachel said.

"Just out of curiosity, Rachel. You don't still shoot heroin, do you?" Nathan asked. Rachel looked at him.

"I don't see what that has to do with anything," she said.

"Just answer the question," Peyton said. She winked at Nathan. She knew what he was getting at.

"Yes, I do. So what?" Rachel said.

"Do you remember what I said when I broke up with you?" he asked. Rachel considered this for a minute.

"You said that you couldn't be with me while I was still on drugs. You said that you couldn't pick up the pieces anymore," she said. Nathan shook his head.

"That's only part of what I said. I said that you were too screwed up for us to have a lasting relationship. I also said that I couldn't be with you while my heart belonged to someone else," Nathan said.

"So?" Rachel asked. Nathan ignored his frustration.

"So, I'm looking at you and I don't get the impression that you've changed a whole lot. You're still doing drugs, you're probably still sleeping around and I am still in love with Haley," he said.

"You don't love her," Rachel said.

"Yes, I do, Rachel. I've loved Haley since eleventh grade. I loved her before I even knew you and I loved her while you and I were dating and I loved her long after we broke up," Nathan said. Rachel's face fell. He seemed to get through to her. She looked so hurt that Nathan almost felt bad for what he said. Then, he remembered the pain in Haley's eyes as she told him she knew that he had proposed to Rachel.

"Goodbye," Peyton said smirking. Rachel looked at Nathan one last time before leaving the room and walking out the front door. Peyton just shook her head. "What a train wreck," she finally said. Nathan smirked at her choice of description. He couldn't help but think the same thing. "Now, can you please explain to me how you ever could have asked _her_ to marry you?" Peyton asked. Nathan sighed.

"Temporary insanity," he offered. Peyton shook her head at him.

"You know, you were a real idiot back then," she said.

"Thanks, Peyton. Really. That's so nice," he said. Peyton shook her head.

"Oh, no, Nathan. You deserve that and more," Peyton said.

"Are you and Haley going to tag-team me now?" he asked. Peyton laughed.

"No. I think Haley will cool down, Nathan," she said.

"I have to go to work," he said. Peyton shrugged.

"I'm going to go home to see my kids," she said, standing up and leaving at the same time that Nathan did.

TWO HOURS LATER

Haley sat at the piano and began playing "For Good" from the musical "Wicked". She had sent her vocal class to work on the projects she'd assigned them since she was too tired to work on the songs they were learning in class. She skipped the introduction lyrics and but played the piano until the first verse started. She started singing as she played:

_I've heard it said_

_That people come into our lives _

_For a reason_

_Bringing something we must learn_

_And we are led to those who help us most to grow_

_If we let them_

She took a deep breath as she continued:

_Well, I don't know if I believe that's true_

_But I know I'm who I am today _

_Because I knew you_

She paused as she turned the page and examined it. It was the chorus and she read the words before she started playing again. As she played, she continued to sing:

_Like a comet pulled from orbit_

_As it passes a sun_

_Like a stream that meets a boulder_

_Halfway through the wood_

_Who can say if I've been changed for the better_

_Because I knew you_

_I have been changed for good_

She paused again as she adjusted the key change for when the next character started singing. She sung along to that verse too:

_It well may be_

_That we will never meet again_

_In this lifetime_

_So let me say before we part_

_So much of me is made of what I learned from you_

_You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart_

_And now whatever way our stories end_

_I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend_

_Like a ship blown from it's mooring _

_By a wind off the sea_

_Like a sea dropped by the sky bird_

_In a distant wood_

_Who can say if I've been changed for the better?_

_Because I knew you_

_Because I knew you_

_I have been changed for good_

_And just to clear the air_

_I ask forgiveness_

_For the things I've done _

_You blame me for_

_But then I guess_

_We know there's blame to share_

_But none of it seems to matter anymore_

She stopped as the song became two parts and Haley could only sing one part. She turned the page and was happy to see the song "Defying Gravity". She loved this song and immediately skipped the introduction lyrics and went straight into the character, Elphaba's part:

_Something has changed within me_

_Something is not the same_

_I'm through with playing by the rules_

_Of someone else's game_

_Too late for second guessing_

_Too late to go back to sleep_

_It's time to trust my instincts_

_Close my eyes: And leap_

_It's time to try defying gravity_

_I think I'll try_

_Defying gravity_

_And you can't pull me down_

_I'm through accepting limits_

_Cause someone says they're so_

_Some things I cannot change_

_But 'til I try, I'll never know_

_Too long I've been afraid of _

_Losing love I guess I've lost_

_Well, if that's love_

_It comes at much too high a cost_

_I'd sooner buy_

_Defying gravity_

_Kiss me goodbye_

_I'm defying gravity_

_And you can't pull me down_

Haley stopped singing and played the lines she didn't want to sing. Then she continued. She started singing both characters' parts, but she didn't care.

_I really hope you get it and you don't live to regret it_

_I hope you're happy in the end_

_I hope you're happy, my friend_

_So if you care to find me_

_Look to the Western Sky_

_As someone told me lately,_

"_Every one deserves a chance to fly!"_

_And if I'm flying solo_

_At least I'm flying free_

_To those who'd ground me_

_Take a message back from me_

_Tell them how I'm defying gravity_

_I'm flying high_

_Defying gravity_

_And soon I'll match them in renown_

_And nobody, in all of Oz_

_No Wizard that there is or was_

_Is ever gonna bring me down_

_Bring me down _

_Aah!_

Haley sighed as she took a deep breath. Singing always calmed her nerves. It was a way to relax and let out her frustrations so she started playing another song, but this time, it was "Let Me Fall". She had no music in front of her. She knew it from memory.

_It's October again_

_The leaves are coming down_

_One more year's come and gone_

_And nothing's changed at all_

_Wasn't I supposed to be someone_

_Who can face the things that I've been running from?_

_Let me feel_

_I don't care if I break down_

_Let me fall_

_Even if I hit the ground_

_And if I_

_Cry a little_

_Die a little_

_At least I know I lived_

_Just a little_

_I've become much too good_

_At being invincible_

_I'm an expert_

_At play-it-safe and keep-it-cool_

_But I swear _

_This isn't who I'm meant to be_

_I refuse to let my life roll all over me_

_Let me feel_

_I don't care if I break down_

_Let me fall_

_Even if I hit the ground_

_And if I_

_Cry a little_

_Die a little_

_At least I know I lived_

_Just a little_

_I wanna be somebody, I_

_I wanna be somebody_

_I wanna be somebody, I_

_I wanna be somebody_

_Who can face the things that I've been running from_

_Let me feel_

_I don't care if I break down_

_Let me fall_

_Even if I hit the ground_

_And if I_

_Cry a little_

_Die a little_

_At least I know I lived_

_It's October again_

_The leaves are coming down_

_One more year's come and gone_

_And nothing's changed at all_

Haley sighed. Then, someone started clapping. She turned to see Nathan standing in the doorway of the classroom. Her class was probably in the practice rooms that were sound proof. "It's been a while since I've heard you sing like that," he said, coming over to the piano. She put the lid down on the piano and locked it.

"It's been a while since I've sung like that," she said. He sat down on the bench beside her.

"I know what that last song was. What was the other stuff?" he asked.

"It's from a musical. The musical theatre teacher left the book here," she said. He nodded. "So, I guess we should talk," he said. She shook her head.

"Haley," he started.

"Nathan, I'm in the middle of a class," she said. He looked around the empty classroom. Then he looked back at her and raised his eyebrows. "Any one of my students could walk through that door and any time," she said.

"Haley, the girls are in the practice rooms talking to each other," he said.

"They should be singing," she said.

"Well, they're not," he said.

"I gave them time to work on a project. They should be using it. I'm not going to give them an extension," she said, babbling.

"They were listening to you for a while," he said. Haley looked at her watch.

She yelled, "Girls!" A few doors opened and some girls came into the room. Nathan stood up and leaned on the piano. "Get the others in here," she said. One girl left. A few minutes later, all of them came into the room. "You guys can go. Tomorrow, presentations start and I expect it to be memorized. No excuses," she said as some left the room. "Bye, Mrs. Scott," a few of them said as they left. As soon as all of them were gone, Haley turned to Nathan. His blue eyes were staring right after as she turned around. She felt her heart flop the way it always did when he looked at her. She also felt a lump in her throat as she could see the pain in his eyes. He missed her. She could tell that he did. She frowned at him. She wasn't going to let him get away with lying to her. She did love him but she wasn't a doormat. "We do need to talk, Nathan. You're right. And there is something that I have to tell you," she said. He nodded. "But not now. We need to focus on getting through work and we'll talk when you come home. I am going to meet Peyton for lunch. Then, I have an on-call and then I'm going to go home," Haley said. He smirked sadly.

"I'll see you after practice?" he asked. She nodded as she got her things together and left the room. Nathan sighed. "Today is going to be a long day," he said to the empty room before getting up and leaving.


	6. 6

**Chapter Six**

KAREN'S CAFÉ

Peyton and Brooke were seated at a booth in Karen's Café waiting for Haley to show up. "So, I guess you probably know about everything that's going on," Peyton said. Brooke looked at her.

"Such as?" she asked.

"The Nathan/Haley/Rachel thing," Peyton said. Brooke nodded.

"Oh, yeah. I must say when Nathan screws up, he screws up royally," Brooke said. Peyton frowned.

"Don't get me wrong. I know that what Nathan did was dumb, but it's not like he proposed to Rachel while he and Haley were together," she said.

"They were married, Peyton," Brooke reminded her.

"Yeah, but they were separated and just because Haley didn't date anyone else, it doesn't mean that Nathan had to do the same. Haley's the one who left him, not the other way around. I think she has a lot of nerve to be mad at him for something that happened when they weren't even together," Peyton said. Brooke's mouth dropped open.

"Gee, thanks for your support and understanding," Haley said from behind Peyton. Peyton swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry, Haley, but that's how I feel," Peyton said. Haley smirked as she sat down.

"Well, aside from the fact that it's none of your business, let me ask you a hypothetical question. How would you feel if Jake proposed to some girl while you two were _separated_?" Haley asked.

"I'd be hurt, sure, but I wouldn't take it as far as you are," Peyton said.

"And how far am I taking it?" Haley asked.

"Does Nathan know you're pregnant?" Peyton asked. Haley frowned at her. "I didn't think so," Peyton said. Haley felt her anger rising.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Haley asked, but she had a feeling she knew exactly what Peyton was insinuating.

"It's supposed to mean that you not telling Nathan you're pregnant just because you're mad at him for some stupid thing he did a long time ago is wrong," Peyton said. Haley laughed. She was tired of everyone assuming that.

"Okay, girl in need of a clue," Haley said, "It's not _that_ Nathan proposed to her that I'm angry. It's that he didn't tell me about it when _he_ brought up his past girlfriends. Even when he told me that Rachel was in town, he never told me. I had to find out from _her_." Peyton sighed.

"I would be hurt too, Haley, but that still doesn't excuse you not telling him that you're pregnant because you're mad at him," Peyton said. Haley slammed her fists on the table.

"That is _not_ what I am doing!" she exclaimed. Brooke jumped at the force that Haley brought her fists down on the table. She didn't know Haley had that kind of strength.

Brooke was surprised that the table wasn't split in two. Brooke put her hand on Haley's forearm. Haley moved her hand away as she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Yes, I'm angry at Nathan and, yes, I am hurt. I have a right to be. But I'm not keeping my pregnancy from him to exact some sort of revenge. I'm not that vindictive," Haley said.

Brooke surprised even herself when she was the one to ask, "Then, why haven't you told him?" Haley looked at both of them.

"Neither one of you told your husbands that you were pregnant right away," she said.

"That's because I wanted to wait for a special occasion," Brooke said.

"Well, I wanted to surprise Jake with a romantic dinner both times. Funny. He never caught on when I was pregnant with Elizabeth even though I did the same thing when I was pregnant with Chris," Peyton said. Haley shook her head at them.

"I found out on Monday that I was pregnant. Rachel didn't come to town until Wednesday. I was planning to tell Nathan today since before Rachel showed up because I thought it would be nice to have the weekend," Haley said. Peyton felt like such an idiot now.

"You wanted to surprise him?" Peyton asked. Haley nodded insistently.

"And, when he gets home today, we're going to talk about the whole Rachel thing and whether we get it sorted out or not, I'm still going to tell him that I'm pregnant," Haley said. Peyton smiled.

"Sorry?" she said. Haley laughed.

"It's ok," Haley said.

SIX HOURS LATER

Nathan got out of Jake's car and waved goodbye as he and Peyton headed home. He walked up the driveway, up the stairs and put the key in the lock. He opened the door and walked into the house and down the hall. "Haley!" he called.

"I'm in the kitchen," she replied. He sighed with relief. He walked into the kitchen to find Haley working on dinner.

"Can we talk now?" he asked. Haley dropped what she was doing. She turned the timer on and sat down at the kitchen table. He pulled a chair out and sat down beside her. Haley looked at him.

"I'm sorry," he said. Haley smirked.

"For what?" she asked.

"That I proposed to her. It was a stupid thing to do. I was in a bad place. My mom had to go to rehab again and my dad was, well, my dad. I was looking for someone to make me feel less lonely and she was the only one there and.." he said. Haley shook her head as she put her hand to his mouth.

"Stop, Nathan. You don't have to explain to me," she said. He looked at her in confusion. "I'm not mad that you proposed to Rachel. It hurts, yes, but at the time, we had been separated for more than two years and that's because of something that I did, so I have no right to be mad at you for moving on, even if it was a little premature," she said.

"So, you're not mad at me anymore?" he asked slowly. Haley didn't answer.

"Just let me finish. When you told me that you had dated Rachel, you told me that you dated for a few months and that things were never really serious between you two. Why did you lie?" she asked.

"I didn't lie. Things were never really that serious," he said.

"Nathan, you proposed to her!" Haley exclaimed.

"I proposed to who I thought Rachel was. At the time, I didn't know about all of her problems," he said.

"So, you took back what you said?" Haley asked.

"She turned me down. She said that we were too young to be thinking about marriage and there were still so many things she wanted to do before she got married," he said.

"So, if she hadn't said no, you might be married to her right now instead of married to me," she said.

"No," he said. "I was still married to you when I asked her. So, if she had said yes, I would've had to get a divorce from you or sign the annulment papers and if I had been faced with doing that, I know that I would've called off the whole thing. When I proposed to Rachel, it was a spur of the moment thing. I didn't have a ring, I had never even thought of proposing to her earlier that day. She just came into my dorm room and I was in a particular mood and, well, one thing led to another and I ended up proposing to her," he said.

"You mean like how you proposed to me out of nowhere?" Haley asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, that day we were fooling around and you just asked me to marry you. It was a 'spur of the moment' thing too," she said. He sighed.

"There's two differences," he said. Haley looked at him quizzically. "Well, the first one is that I loved you and the second one is that when I asked you, I meant it," he said. He put an open hand on the table. She smiled as she put her left hand on the one that he had put on the table. He closed his hand over hers and she stood up from the table while he gently tugged her closer to him. Haley sat down on his lap as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He just held her close to him. "I never meant to hurt you. Believe me, that is the last thing that I ever wanted to do," he said as he lifted his head up to look at her. Haley grew serious all of a sudden.

"Nathan, there's something I have to tell you," she said. He looked at her in confusion.

"It sounds important," he said. She nodded.

"It is very important. This will change our lives forever," she said. He looked at her and he saw a little bit of fear in her eyes.

"Haley, are you sick?" he asked. Haley cracked a smile.

"What!" she asked, laughing.

"Do you have cancer or something?" he asked. Haley started laughing harder.

"No. Where on earth did you get that idea!" she asked, her eyes shining with amusement. He relaxed.

"I don't know. You tell me you have something _life-changing_ to tell me and that it's very important. What am I supposed to think?" he replied.

"I'm not sick, Nathan," she said.

"Are you lying to me to protect me?" he asked. She shook her head as she cupped his cheek with her hand which made him look in her eyes.

"I'm pregnant," Haley said.

"Thank God," he said. Nathan sighed with relief. Haley scrunched her face in confusion.

"What?" she asked. Then, he processed what she said.

"Did you just say you're pregnant?" he asked. Haley nodded. Nathan smiled at her as he picked her up as he stood up. He held her tight against him as he kissed her.

"That's incredible!" he exclaimed. Haley threw her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to kiss him.


	7. 7

**The Storm After the Calm (Part Two)**

**Introduction**

Six months have gone by since Haley told Nathan she was pregnant and is now seven months into her pregnancy. Rachel is still around, only everyone thinks she left. I hinted that Dan would be making peoples' lives miserable, while what he's been up to is about to be revealed and don't be surprised to learn that he has a partner (maybe more than one).

**Chapter Seven**

Haley felt someone touching her face. She opened her eyes to see Nathan smiling at her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," he said. She yawned as she sighed.

"Yeah, that's why you touched my face," she grumbled.

"I couldn't help it," he said.

"Well, tomorrow I'll wake you up by spilling water all over you and then let's see how you feel when I say that I didn't mean to do it," she said. He laughed as he wrapped his arm around her.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked.

"Like I don't want to go to work," she said.

"Haley, this is your last day before you go on maternity leave. You need to go," he said. Haley groaned.

"Why don't you stay home with me and we can just relax today?" she asked.

"As tempting as that sounds, I can't. There's a game tonight. Besides, you have a doctor's appointment later on," he said.

"Oh, yeah," she said. Nathan smirked. Haley sighed as she started to get up, which was a difficult task now that there was a person inside her. Nathan gently pulled her back down beside him.

"What are you doing? We have to go to work, remember?" Haley teased.

"We can be a little late," Nathan said as he started kissing her.

SIX HOURS LATER

Haley sighed as she packed up her classroom. She felt a lump in her throat as she realized she wouldn't be back in the room for a few months. She was going to miss all of her students, not to mention, the piano. "Mrs. Scott," a student said. Haley turned around to see one of the guitar students, Jeremy. She had asked him to grab her guitar from the classroom.

"Thanks, Jeremy," she said. Jeremy hesitated.

"Are you sure you can manage to carry this?" he asked out of concern. Haley smiled.

"Oh, yes, I can. But, thanks for the concern," she said as she took it from him. She was almost insulted. She was pregnant not paralysed. She walked out of the classroom and walked over to the elevator. She could walk down the stairs, but not while she was holding her shoulder bag and her guitar. The door opened right when she pushed the down arrow and she walked in. She pushed the button for the first floor. The door opened again and she walked out. She headed down to Nathan's office to tell him that she was on her way home. She knew she didn't have to tell him, she just wanted an excuse to see him. As she passed, Lucas walked out of his office that he shared with Jake.

"Hey, Hales. Fancy meeting you here," he said sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, the music room is quite a ways away from here," he said.

"I'm not just a music teacher," she reminded him.

"Your English classroom is even further away," he said. She smirked.

"That's not what I meant," she said.

"What did you mean?" Lucas asked.

"My husband is the coach. I came to see him," she said.

"And not me? You know, I've only been back for two days," he joked.

"I love the symmetry," Haley said. Lucas looked at her in confusion. "Well, one Scott returns, another one leaves," she explained. Lucas laughed.

"Well, I'll let you go see Nathan. I have a class to teach anyways," he said. Haley smiled and walked over to Nathan's door.

She lightly tapped it and he said, "Come in." She smirked. He still sounds annoyed whenever anyone knocks at that door. She opened the door and walked in. She found Nathan sitting at his desk while Jake stood in the doorway that connected from the gym.

Jake smiled brightly at her as he said, "Hi, Haley. I'll leave you two alone." Nathan smirked at him as he left and shut the door quietly behind him. Nathan turned and smiled brightly at Haley.

"Hi, sweetie," he said. Haley smiled as she dropped her bag and guitar on the empty chair and came around his desk. He met her half way as he stood up and kissed her. "What are you doing here?" he asked when the kiss ended.

"I'm waiting for Brooke and Peyton. Peyton agreed to drive me home and then to my doctor's appointment. Brooke wanted to come with us since it's her day off anyways," she said. Nathan smiled at her lovingly as he helped her sit down in the uncomfortable chairs.

SOME HOTEL ROOM

Rachel Moore sighed as she started packing up her things to leave town. She had finally accepted the reality that Nathan would never be with her now that he and his wife were expecting a baby. As much as she loved Nathan, she wasn't going to stick around Tree Hill and continue to make a fool out of herself nor was she going to continue to try to take Nathan away from Haley now that she was pregnant with their kid. She wasn't that cold hearted. Then, a knock on her hotel door took her out of her thoughts. She opened the door and was shocked to see Dan Scott at her door. He walked in and observed her suitcases. "What is this?" he asked.

Rachel swallowed hard as she said, "I'm leaving." Dan laughed wickedly as he shook his head.

"I'm not paying you to give up and leave town Miss Moore. I paid you for a service and I expect that service to be fulfilled," he said. Rachel scoffed.

"There's no way I'm going to be able to get between Nathan and Haley now that she's pregnant and, frankly, I don't want to. That child deserves both its parents and I'm not going to be the one who takes them away," she said.

"That child will be more than fine with its mother. I don't want that woman in my son's life anymore," Dan said.

"Why? Can't you see that he's happy with her?" Rachel asked.

"Of course I can, but it's only a matter of time before she has a change of heart again and I will not let my son go through that again. He needs someone who knows what they want and who is willing to do anything to get it by his side and that someone is going to be you. Whether you like it or not," he said.

"I don't like it and I'm not going to do it. I know that Nathan loves his wife and even if we end up together by some stroke of luck, he'll always love her more than me. I want to be who he wants. I don't want to be what he settles for," Rachel said. "What's so funny?" she demanded.

"You, Miss Moore. My Goodness, you're acting as if you have a choice in the matter," he said. Rachel looked at him as if he were crazy. "Let me put it to you this way, Rachel. Either you help me with my problem or you can spend the next ten years mulling over your mistakes behind bars," he said. Rachel looked at him in confusion. Dan took a plastic bag full of heroin out of his pocket and said, "I know about your problem, Rachel. So, unless you don't want me to notify the police that there's a drug dealer in our midst, you better do as I say," he said. Rachel sighed in defeat. She looked at Dan and he smiled as he probably realized that she was going to help him.

"How do you suggest I go about doing it?" she asked.

"I don't care how you seduce Nathan. I want Haley out of Nathan's life now. Consider that your top priority," Dan said.

"I seduce Nathan and that's how Haley is out of his life," she reminded him.

"Oh, yes, because it worked so well the first time," he said sarcastically.

"No, you're to take care of Haley first," he said. Rachel sighed as she understood what she was supposed to do and dreaded that she was actually going to do it.

SIX HOURS LATER

Nathan was so tired when he drove the car home that he almost considered pulling over and sleeping for about an hour, but he knew that Haley was waiting for him at home. The thought of Haley woke him up immediately. He couldn't believe that she was pregnant with their first child. He was so happy, he felt like he needed to pinch himself just to make sure it wasn't a dream. He loved it when he woke up before she did and he could see her sleeping peacefully wrapped in his arms and he could feel her stomach and one time he actually felt their daughter kick inside Haley's uterus. He pulled the car into their driveway. He took the keys out of the ignition and opened the door. He got out and went to the trunk. As he leaned forward to grab his gym bag and swung it over his shoulder, something at the side of the house caught his eye. He couldn't explain it, but somehow, something seemed different to him. He put his gym bag back in the trunk and shut it. He walked over to the side of the house and almost lost his footing at what he saw. A motionless Haley laid on the ground. He ran to her immediately. She was on her back and her hair was in disarray as it was covering her face. Her legs were twisted in such a way that Nathan was sure one of them had to be broken. He looked up and saw that a window on the third floor had been shattered. He looked around the area and noticed shards of broken glass everywhere. That's when he noticed the pool of blood around Haley. He moved some hair away from her face as he screamed, "Haley!" There was no response. He quickly put his index finger to her neck and was relieved to find a pulse, but it was faint. He grabbed his cell phone out of his back pocket and dialled 911 and pushed "Send". "Hello, 911, what is your emergency?" A female asked. "My wife is unconscious," he said. "What happened?" she asked. "I don't know. I think she might have fallen out of a window. Please, send an ambulance. There's broken glass and blood everywhere," he said. "Where are you?" she asked. "1456 Hunt Street. It's a white and grey house. Please hurry. My wife is pregnant," he said.


	8. 8

**Chapter Eight**

TREE HILL HOSPITAL (FOUR HOURS LATER)

Nathan sat by Haley's side. She was semi-conscious now that the doctors had finally stabled her. She continued to go in and out as if she were straddling life and death. Nathan didn't know what else to do besides sit by her side and wait for the doctor to decide to come and talk to him. He hated hospitals. He wasn't fond of doctors at the moment and he was even less fond of Haley's heart monitor that beeped every second. At that moment, he saw a young woman in a white coat approach him. "Are you her husband?" she asked. She brought out a clipboard and took her pen out.

"Yes, I am," Nathan replied.

"I'm Dr. Montgomery. I'm the physician who treated her when she came in," she explained. Nathan shook her outstretched hand.

"Is she ok?" he asked anxiously.

Dr. Montgomery bit her lip as she said, "We managed to get her stable. We're monitoring her and the baby before we bring her up for surgery."

"So, the baby's ok?" he asked.

"She went into fetal distress, but our obstetrician managed to reverse the problem," Dr. Montgomery said.

"So, the baby _is _ok?" Nathan repeated, not understanding what she really meant. Dr. Montgomery smiled sympathetically as she nodded.

"Yes, as far as we can tell, the baby is fine," she said. He nodded as he knew that when she said that as far as they knew was the hospital just covering it's ass in case something happened.

"What about Haley?" Nathan asked. Dr. Montgomery took a deep breath as she started to explain that the fall caused a lot of injuries. "Is she paralysed? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" Nathan asked. He felt as if her were reliving the time when she was in a coma and ended up paralysed in one leg. The doctor shook her head.

"No. She has a few pair of broken ribs and spleen was damaged, so we're going to operate to see if we can repair the damage," she explained. Nathan nodded, signalling that he was fine with the operation.

"So, will my wife be okay?" he asked.

"She should be fine," she said.

"Then, why is she still unconscious?" Nathan asked.

"We've got her on a few medications. She's not unconscious. She's just heavily sedated," the doctor explained. Nathan nodded and he was about to turn away when Dr. Montgomery said, "The police are going to want to talk to you."

"What?" he asked.

"We called the police. Your wife was murmuring something about how she was pushed out of the window," Dr. Montgomery said. Nathan nodded. He certainly didn't think that Haley merely fell out of the window, but it was just surprising to him that someone hated her enough to push her out of the window. Fifteen minutes later, the police came to Haley's room.

He sighed as the police officer said, "Hi, Nathan."

"Hi, Tim," Nathan said to his old high school friend, Tim Smith, who was now a police detective.

"Look, I'm really sorry to do this, but, uh, we need to figure out who did this to Haley," Tim explained.

"I understand. Believe me, I want to find whoever did this as much as anyone," Nathan said. He looked back at Haley.

"Can you think of _anyone_ who might want to hurt Haley?" Tim asked. Nathan sighed.

"No," he said.

"Can you think of anyone who might not like her?" Tim asked.

"Well, not everyone is her biggest fan, but I hardly think people hate her enough to want to throw her out of a window," Nathan said. Tim nodded as he jotted down some notes.

"Can you tell me some of the people who don't like her?" Tim asked. Nathan shrugged.

"Well, my father's never really been that fond of her because she helped me get emancipated from him and my mom back then, but he doesn't _hate_ her," Nathan said. Tim nodded. "Haley's said there are a few students who aren't too fond of her because she failed them on a project, but even that's-" Nathan said.

"Not reason enough to try to kill her?" Tim asked. Nathan nodded. "You'd be surprised how the smallest thing can sometimes push people over the edge," Tim said. Nathan tilted his head at him.

"Come on, Tim. You weren't very fond of Haley at one point. Does that mean you would have thrown her out a window?" Nathan asked. Tim laughed.

"Okay. That was a long time ago and I was jealous of the time you two spent together when you first got married. I never didn't like her," Tim reminded him. "I know you think this is ridiculous, Nathan, but it's not. Someone did try to kill your wife. This is not a normal thing for me to be dealing with a victim that's actually alive," Tim said.

"It was probably an accident. It was probably a robbery gone wrong when the robber found Haley there," Nathan said.

"There was no sign of forced entry, Nathan. Haley let that person in, so it's probably someone she or both of you know. Why are you being so difficult with this?" Tim said.

"Because you're asking me to realize that someone tried to kill my wife! I can't accept that _anyone_ would purposely try to hurt her," Nathan said. Tim nodded.

"Ok. How about we wait until she wakes up? Maybe she can tell us," Tim suggested. Nathan sighed as he nodded. Just then, Lucas came into the room. There was a look of panic on his face as he approached Nathan.

"How is she?" Luke asked. Nathan had called him a few minutes after he had arrived at the hospital while the doctors were working on Haley.

"She'll _be_ fine, Luke," Nathan assured him.

"What happened? You said you found her _outside _on the ground," Brooke asked. He sighed.

"It seems that Haley was pushed out of a window," Tim said for him.

"So someone did this to her?" Peyton asked as she came into view. Nathan nodded and shrugged.

"I don't know what happened because I wasn't there, but it does look like someone pushed her out, yeah," Nathan said.

"I'm glad you guys are here. Can you think of who might have done this?" Tim asked. Lucas and Jake looked almost as perplexed with the issue as Nathan. Peyton and Brooke both looked at each other knowingly. He recognized the look on their faces. They knew something but they were afraid to tell them.

"What do you know?" Nathan asked.

"It's ridiculous," Peyton said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Is it?" Brooke asked. Peyton narrowed her eyes at her.

"Come on, Peyton. You didn't see the two arguing that time," Brooke said.

"Who?" Tim asked.

Brooke looked at Nathan apologetically as she said, "Rachel Moore." Nathan laughed.

"Come on, Brooke. Rachel could never do this," he said.

"Nathan, you know as well as anyone else that Rachel has motive. She wants you for herself," Peyton said.

"I'm not denying that she had motive. I'm saying there's no way she'd be able to pull it off. Rachel's so messed up on drugs that she couldn't have done it. Besides, she's not even in town anymore. She sent a letter to me telling me that she was leaving town and that she was sorry for all the problems she'd caused," Nathan said.

"Maybe that was to get you to lower your guard. Think about it, Nathan. This is making perfect sense. I remember that crazy girl from the time I visited you on campus in between training. She was mad for you and with Haley out of the way, you would be ripe for the picking," Tim said. Nathan shook his head.

"Haley out of the way?'" Nathan repeated. He knew what it was like to not have Haley with him, but to not even have the possibility of seeing her at all seemed like the most devastating blow to him.

"Allow me to try this a different way," Tim said. Nathan nodded. "You were the one that found Haley, right?" he asked. Nathan nodded. "So you saw her with shards of glass inside her skin and her nearly drowning in her own blood that surrounded her. Now, add the fact that she's pregnant to that image. Your baby went into fetal distress. That means that for a few moments, she was deprived of oxygen for a few seconds because Haley was surrounded by a pool of blood," Tim said. Nathan's hand balled into a fist as he remembered finding Haley. "Now, are you still going to tell me that you think that was an accident?" Tim asked. Lucas could tell that Tim's scenario was starting to affect Nathan. He looked about ready to pummel someone. Nathan's jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrowed.

"It wasn't an accident," Nathan concluded angrily.

Then, a small voice called out, "Nathan?" It was quiet and it was weak, but there was no denying who it came from. Lucas turned around as Nathan did and saw that Haley was awake and struggling to sit up. Nathan was by her side in an instant. He put his arm around Haley's back to help her.

"Just take it slow, Hales," he said soothingly. Haley flinched as she moved one of her legs.

"What happened?" she asked. Lucas felt his blood turn to ice. Haley didn't seem to remember. "You don't know?" Nathan asked.

Haley turned her head up to face him, silently swearing in her head at the shooting pain.

"Know what?" she asked.

"Haley, try to remember what happened today," Tim said softly. What was he doing here? Haley ignored the question and tried to concentrate.

"Uh, I remember leaving school and going to the doctor's with Peyton and Brooke. Everything was fine with the baby. Then, I went home and…" Haley trailed off.

"And?" Brooke asked softly.

"What happened next, Haley?" Tim pressed. Haley shook her head as she tried to concentrate.

"Take it easy, Hales. The doctor said you shouldn't try to push yourself," Nathan said. Haley nodded, but she wanted to know what happened to her. She concentrated.

(FLASHBACK)

Haley backed away from Rachel. She didn't like the look in her eyes and she regretted letting the psycho in the house now as she held a knife in her hands. "I'm sorry, Haley. I really am. I didn't want to do this," Rachel said. Haley looked at the knife.

"Do what?" Haley asked out of fear. Rachel sighed.

"I have no choice. You've got to believe that," Rachel said. Haley scoffed.

"No choice? Rachel, just exactly what do you think you're going to accomplish by doing this? Do you really think that killing me is going to convince Nathan to be with you?" Haley asked. Rachel shook her head.

"This isn't about Nathan," Rachel said.

"Then what's it about?" Haley asked, as she backed away again. Rachel sighed.

"It's about you. It's all about you," she said.

"What are you babbling about?" Haley asked. Rachel shook her head. She walked forward and held up her hand, ready to stab Haley, but Haley caught her arm before Rachel was able to stab her. Now, they were struggling with the knife. Rachel grabbed a hold of Haley's right shoulder and tried to move her around so she would let go of Rachel. But Haley seemed to anticipate it and grabbed the back of Rachel's neck and dug her nails into the tender skin. Rachel screamed in pain and let go of Haley and the knife clattered to the ground. Then she got angry as she became more forceful. They continued to struggle for a few minutes as the neared the window. Without thinking, Rachel gave Haley a powerful shove. Rachel didn't know just how close to the window Haley actually was as she fell screaming out of the shattered window.

"No!" Rachel screamed. She walked to the edge and looked out the window. Haley was laying down on the ground and was not moving.

(END OF FLASHBACK)

Haley gasped. "Haley?" Nathan asked.

"Do you remember something?" Brooke asked. Haley nodded.

"It was Rachel," she said.


	9. 9

**Chapter Nine**

"Haley, do you know who pushed you out the window?" Tim Smith asked. He had a notepad in his left hand and a pen in his right hand.

"It was Rachel Moore," Haley said in a stronger voice. Nathan shook his head in disbelief.

"Haley, are you sure that it was Rachel?" Nathan asked. Haley nodded again.

"She came to the house and we started talking. She said that she didn't want to do it and that she was really sorry. I didn't know what she was talking about until she showed me the knife she had hidden behind her back," Haley said.

"She had a knife?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah. We struggled for a while and the knife dropped from her hand. It was a little while after that when she pushed me out the window," Haley said.

"Do you know why she did this?" Tim asked.

"Duh, Tim. She did it for the same reason she came to Tree Hill in the first place. She wants Nathan and apparently, she's willing to do anything in order to get him," Brooke said.

"No," Haley said, shaking her head.

"She said that it was about me, not Nathan," Haley said.

"That doesn't make any sense, Haley. The only reason she hates you is because you are married to Nathan," Peyton said.

"Lucas!" A male voice yelled from down the hall. Nathan didn't need to turn around to know that it was his father. Dan was in a panic. He finally found his older son, Lucas at the hospital. Lucas had called him a half hour ago, telling him that Nathan was at the hospital and that he needed to come quickly. "Lucas, is Nathan ok?" Dan asked out of breath and in fear. Lucas looked at him.

"Nathan?" he asked.

"Yes, Nathan. You called me to come down to the hospital because Nathan was here. Is he ok? What the hell happened and who's responsible? Where the hell is his wife?" he asked.

"Whoa, slow down, Dan. Nathan's fine. He wasn't hurt," Lucas said. Nathan stepped out from behind Lucas.

"Then why are you at the hospital?" he asked, looking at Nathan.

"Because Haley was, Dad. She was pushed out a window at the beach house," Nathan replied. Dan sighed as he gasped.

"Haley was thrown out a window?" Dan repeated. Lucas nodded.

"Don't worry. She's fine. The baby's fine too," Nathan said before Dan could ask.

"Rachel won't get away with it either," Detective Tim Smith said. Dan stiffened.

Rachel?" he repeated. He made it sound like he had no idea who they were talking about.

"It turns out my ex-girlfriend, Rachel Moore, was the one who did this to Haley," Nathan said. Dan felt his blood boil. That stupid, stupid girl.

TWO HOURS LATER

Rachel Moore opened the door to her motel room and was once again shocked to see Dan Scott. "Mr. Scott," she said. He walked in the room and slammed the door. "What kind of an idiot are you?" he demanded as he sat down on the bed. Rachel looked at him in confusion. "You almost killed my grand child," Dan said accusingly.

"I did what you asked me to do," Rachel said.

"I told you to get rid of Haley," Dan said.

"And that's what I did," Rachel said simply.

"Haley is alive," Dan said. Rachel sighed.

"Besides, when I said that I wanted you to get rid of her, I meant to get her to leave town again, not push her out a window!" Dan exclaimed.

"I was going to stab her but she knocked the knife out of my hand!" Rachel yelled back. "You almost killed her!" Dan said. Rachel laughed.

"Isn't that what you wanted?" she asked.

"Of course not. I wanted her out of my son's life. I didn't want her dead. The woman is carrying my grand child, for God's sake! What kind of a monster do you take me for?" Dan exploded.

"Well, you should have been more specific. You told me to get rid of Haley. I took that to mean you wanted her dead," Rachel said. Dan laughed.

"Well, I didn't. And even if I did, you still would've failed because Haley is alive. She and Nathan are together right now," he said. Rachel said a silent thank you that Haley was alright. She never wanted to hurt her.

"You sick son of a bitch!" a male voice exclaimed. Dan turned to see Nathan, Tim and Lucas. Nathan shook angrily. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he exclaimed to both his father and Rachel. Rachel shook fearfully as she pleaded with him.

"Nathan, you've got to understand. I was just following orders. I thought your dad wanted me to kill Haley," Rachel said. Nathan shook his head.

"There's still a choice involved, Rachel. You didn't have to do what you did," he said simply to her. Rachel shook her head.

"He threatened to tell the cops I was a drug dealer and send me to prison if I didn't do what he told me to do. Please, you've got to understand that if he hadn't threatened me from the beginning, I never would've come to Tree Hill," Rachel said. Nathan glared at her. He looked to Tim. Tim wasted no time. He started cuffing Rachel while reading her, her rights. A few minutes later, Rachel was out of the room.

"You brought her to town?" Nathan asked his father. Dan smiled.

"Yes, I did," he admitted.

"Why?" Lucas asked.

"I wanted Haley out of your life. I didn't want you to be hurt again if she suddenly decided that she wanted more out of life then a teaching job at the local high school," Dan said. Nathan shook his head.

"It's always the same defence with you, isn't it? 'I did it for you, Son.' You didn't do this to help me. You did this because you don't want anyone to be happy," he said.

"That woman cannot make you happy," Dan said. Nathan laughed.

"Dad, look at me. I am happy and it's because of Haley," he said.

"She could leave you again," he said. Nathan shook his head.

"We're about to have our first child, Dad. And even if we weren't, Haley would never leave me again," Nathan said, walking out of the hotel room.

TREE HILL HOSPITAL

Nathan walked over to Haley's bed. She was sitting up and reading. She smiled as she turned her head to him before he said a word. "Are you ok?" Haley asked. Nathan smiled.

"You get pushed out a window and you're asking me if I'm ok?" he asked. Haley laughed.

"You just found out that your father hired your ex-girlfriend to destroy your marriage. Finding out a family member betrayed you like that is worse than any physical pain that Rachel could think of," Haley said.

"How did you know?" Nathan asked.

"Lucas beat you here. He told me everything," Haley said.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"I feel fine. Though, I would've loved to see Dan Scott hauled off in handcuffs and then manhandled into a police cruiser. You should have taped it," Haley said. Nathan laughed as he kissed her on the forehead.

The End 


End file.
